Title

Melting Marshmallows

Problem Scenario

Broad Question

Do different sized marshmallows melt at a certain rate?

Specific Question

Will different sized marshmallows melt at different rates while the temperature is increased at a constant rate?

Hypothesis

I hypothesize that smaller sized marshmallows will melt at a faster rate then medium and larger sized marshmallows. I think this is because the smaller amount of mass the marshmallows hold, the faster the marshmallows should melt.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable: Heat source

Dependent Variable: Marshmallows

Variables That Need To Be Controlled: Time,temperature, and amount of marshmallows

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

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General Plan

My general plan is to melt marshmallows on top of a heat source, and record what rate the different sized marshmallows melt. I will do my project at my house, and have my parents help me. I will go to store to buy the three different sized marshmallows, then try different ways and items that will make a reasonable heat source.

Potential Problems And Solutions

A potential problem to my experiment may be that the marshmallows do not melt. If I notice the marshmallows are not melting with one heat source, i will try another.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

One Safety concern that may display as a danger is that the heat source sets its surroundings on fire. Very likely. Another is that the marshmallows might go aflame.

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
jumbo marshmallows	1 package	Walmart	3.00
regular marshmallows	1 package	Walmart	2.00
mini Marshmallows	1 package	Walmart	1.00

Detailed Procedure

1.First I will purchase three different sized marshmallows packages containing small, medium, and large sized marshmallows.
2.Then I will melt 6 marshmallows of the different sizes, small, medium, and large.
3.As the marshmallows are melting i will record the time, temperature, and rate of the melting process.
4.When I have the rates for all the different sized marshmallows I will compare how fast or slow the different sized marshmallows melt.
5.After, I will clean of the heat source of my experiment

Diagram

Photo List

I will take photos of:
the marshmallows not yet melted, in the process, and when they seem to be fully melted.

Time Line

procedure,time line,
photo list complete 2/1
begin experiments no later than 2/4
experiments done 3/4
analysis done 3/7
Discussion backround 3/15
wiki complete 3/22
KMS Fair 3/29

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Data Table

Size of marshmallows	Melting Time
Jumbo	inconclusive
Medium	inconclusive
Small	inconclusive

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Graphs

Photos

Results

The results of my experiment was that marshmallows don't melt on the outside. So they weren't able to completely melt as I had hoped.

Conclusion

My conclusion to my science fair project is that marshmellows melt on the inside, but not the outside most of the time. Even though none of the marshmallows actually melted, and they still looked the same after 35.19 minutes, there was an obvious difference when we picked them up. The largest ones felt the same. The medium sized ones ones collapsed when picked up. The smallest ones completely turned stiff. As far as taste goes, the large one was soft & sweet, the medium one was melted & gooey, and the smallest was like chalk. The only thing that was the same, was that the bottoms were all burnt.

Discussion

During my experiment a few things went not as planned. First I tried melting the marshmallows on aluminum wrap laying on a pot with boiling water inside. The heat did not reach the marshmallows enough for them to melt so I had to change the heat source. I next started over, using other marshmallows that were not tampered with. The next heat source I used were three different pans, one for the smaller sized, one for the normal sized, and another for the jumbo sized marshmallows.This didnt work either, as the marshmallows did not melt even after around 35 minutes of heat beaming into them. If next time i do decide to melt marshmallows I will most likely hold the marshmellows over the heat without anything inbetween to interferr.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

I think that my science fair project does not have any benefits to the community or to science.

Background Research

References

Abstract

I choose to do my experiment based on my question, "which sized marshmallow will melt faster? Small, Medium, or Large? In the end I had concluded that none of the marshmallows had melted, they just had a few differences between being on top of the heat source, and not. My original heat source did not work therefore I had to try something else. I just decided to used different pans for the different sizes. I used three marshmallows from each of the different sized bags. I noticed after around 35 minutes of waiting the marshmallows would not melt and i would have to conclude my project as not finished. All of the marshmallows we burnt on the bottom, but the smaller marshmallows had the most obvious difference. They were very stiff and burnt on the bottom and edges. Although my science fair project did not come to an actual conclusion, there was some sort of variation between the different sizes.